Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Christmas Comics: OINK! (1986)

On sale 25 years ago, the first Christmas issue of Oink! unusually featured a photo cover spoofing the design of the TV Times as it was then.

A few issues earlier, the comic had received a boost with the addition of new characters. Therefore this issue featured the final section of a three-part free gift in the form of a giant poster calendar illustrated by Ian Jackson.

Ian Jackson was always very prolific in Oink! and I'd consider him their main artist. He designed Uncle Pigg and Mary Lighthouse and also contributed numerous other strips such as Hadrian Vile. Underneath this example is Weedy Willy, drawn by Mike Green. Both strips were written by one of Oink's editors, Mark Rogers, who sadly passed away years ago. A fine bloke and a great loss to comics.

I contributed a fair bit to the run of Oink! myself, appearing in every issue, both as a writer and artist. One of my most enjoyable tasks was creating the Dan Dare parody Ham Dare, Pig of the Future, illustrated by the late Malcolm Douglas. Here's episode three (read across the spread, not one page at a time). I'd considered that this chapter would appear at Christmas so although it wasn't set around that season I managed to write a frozen Swinefleet HQ building in the opening shot...

The same issue also featured the third episode of my Pete and his Pimple strip. I enjoyed using a grey wash on this strip as it gave a mono page more depth. Incidentally, a mistake in the production department deleted the dialogue in the penultimate panel, but all you're missing are a few "Aarghs" and "Yuks"...

Davy Francis lent his distinctive and always funny style to the complete story Blue Xmas written by Mark Rogers.

On page 27, the hilariously inventive Hector Vector and his Talking T-Shirt by Banx.

Finally from this selection box, the very first Christmas with Tom Thug. As with Pete and his Pimple I always provided both script and artwork. In my original script I'd had Santa blasted out of the sky for real, but Mark Rogers suggested, quite rightly, that it might be too traumatic for the younger readers so it all turns out to be a... well, see for yourself...

At the foot of the Tom Thug strip you'll notice a spin-off strip starring Tom's cat Satan. When Tom Thug moved to Buster in 1989 I thought Satan wouldn't be an appropriate name to use (as Buster was a far less edgier comic) so he appeared anonymously a few times in the background then I phased him out of the strip. Don't worry though readers, Satan is still out there somewhere (the cat that is).

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Established in 2006, BLIMEY! is dedicated to British comics past and present. Images are copyright their respective publishers and are only used here for review purposes.

The images of comics on my blog are scanned from my own personal comics collection or, in the case of some current issues, are promotional images sent to me by the publishers. On the rare occasion when I might use an image from another site I always credit the source. If you take images I've scanned to use on your own blog/site I'd appreciate it if you'd have the good manners to show the same courtesy.

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About Me

I work as a professional humour comics artist and writer and have been freelancing full time since 1984, creating many characters such as TOM THUG, PETE AND HIS PIMPLE, COMBAT COLIN, BRICKMAN, ROBO-CAPERS, DEREK THE TROLL, SUBURBAN SATANISTS and others.
I've freelanced for IPC, Marvel Comics, Egmont, Panini,D.C. Thomson, and many others, covering the comics field from originated characters to licensed properties, pre-school to adult on comics such as BUSTER, OINK!, BEANO, DANDY, TRANSFORMERS, SONIC THE COMIC, TOXIC, VIZ, CiTV TELLYTOTS, LEGO ADVENTURES, HERMAN HEDNING, SWEET FA, ACTION FORCE, SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN, RAMPAGE, LUCKY BAG COMIC, SWIFTSURE, WARLOCK, WHITE DWARF, ACES WEEKLY, THE DAREDEVILS, THE MIGHTY WORLD OF MARVEL, and many more.
My recent comics work has included:'Team Toxic' for Egmont's TOXIC magazine'Postman Prat', 'Kid Cops' and 'The Dark Newt' for THE DANDY'Rasher', 'Pup Parade', 'Lord Snooty' and 'Ivy the Terrible' for THE BEANO.
'The Daft Dimension' for DOCTOR WHO MAGAZINE.